Electronic voice service inefficiencies limit the amount people communicate. Some examples of these inefficiencies are:                1. Unscheduled calls often interrupt the recipient because the callers are unaware of what the recipients are doing at that time.        2. Spontaneous discussion is limited by Traditional 2-way communication systems. When nobody is speaking, silence is awkward, and the call ends.        3. Existing communication services are not unified (e.g. Text messaging services, Push To Talk, 2-way communication, group conferencing, video calling, file sharing, etc.).        4. People need to interrupt the audio from their other applications in order to connect. This may include taking headphones off, turning volume down manually, having audio ducked automatically, or manually pausing playback.        5. Establishing connections between parties can take time, often including a need to dial and wait for an answer.        6. In public places: Communications are limited when background music/noise is loud (as in bars). People are forced to yell or stand so close that eye contact and non-verbal communication is lost.        
Furthermore, digital voice communications and music have conventionally been delivered on separate channels and through separate applications. Communications applications typically build in code that causes the music audio to be “ducked” to a fixed level for incoming calls and other events such as voice message playback and notifications, for example. Ducking involves reducing the level of one audio signal by the presence of another, such as lowering the volume of music during a call. Typically, communications software, mobile operating systems, and other software applications including music services presume that ducking is desirable. The present applicant recognizes that ducking is not always desirable, and that the user should be able to control both the presence and level of ducking according to his/her preferences and to levels calculated based on background noise and other factors. The applicant further recognizes that selective ducking of certain frequencies may be desirable, and that other audio mixing techniques may provide for a better user experience in a variety of use cases. It is therefore desirable to provide a system, architecture, and User Interface that is purpose designed for use cases where typical systems fail to provide the level of control and audio mixing functionality necessary for modes of communication in which voice is mixed with other audio signals in real time. A partial architecture exists through prior art that is particular to the gaming industry. It is desirable to leverage this architecture and to develop it further for many other use cases, especially as related to the use of mobile devices and emerging hardware technologies.
Limitations in electronic communication can also have implications for productivity. When teams share a physical workroom their productivity is significantly higher due to increased collaboration and spontaneous communication. When teams are spread out, spontaneous communication is decreased. When people have spontaneous thoughts or questions that should be shared, they stop to consider whether the thought is “important enough” for a phone call. Often spontaneous thoughts are potentially important, and immediate communication could help to save time and errors, but this is non-obvious to the person contemplating the call. In addition, there is a risk that the recipients will not be there to answer the call. In this case, a follow up call is often delayed and forgotten as the caller resumes other work. It is therefore desirable to provide a communications system that encourages spontaneous communication and provides automated tools to alert and connect parties as they become available, without interrupting them. An embodiment of this system designed for team collaboration would likely increase productivity significantly.
In general, a novel technology is desirable to provide a new communications paradigm for interacting with others and for integrating the delivery of voice with music and other audio.